Minister sidelines Kohanga Reo board - Radio New Zealand
In an unprecedented move, Education Minister Hekia Parata has dealt directly with Kohanga learning centres, sidelining the National Trust board. The Trust board has governed Kohanga Reo since 1983. Two years ago she called a number of inquiries into ...
Clash between Hekia Parata, Kohanga Reo board worsens New Zealand Herald
Warning: Pupil poaching will rise
Demographic changes could see central Auckland schools pull in more students from areas already losing thousands.Work is under way to check the accuracy of earlier official warnings that declining numbers of students in central...
Uni's $2b upgrade hits halfway mark
Auckland University's $2 billion two-decade upgrade is halfway as it narrows its focus from five to three campus sites and upgrades, demolishes or extends a swag of buildings.Peter Fehl, the university's property services director,...
Strength in numbers for Titahi Bay principals
Several principals from western Porirua are making of point of working closer together.
Education workers to sue over gender gap
The New Zealand Educational Institute now says it also intends to bring action over gender discrimination against education support workers. "The government has been ignoring this human rights issue for far too long and we will now pursue our case ...
Little: MPs shouldn't have gone to charter school fundraiser
Mr Little says it's a bad look because the party's opposed to charter schools. "I said to them it's my preference that they don't go, but I'd leave the judgement call up to them. They're closer to the local and constituent issues.
Kelvin Davis defies Labour policy in charter school support
Labour MP Kelvin Davis has rebelled against his leader, Andrew Little, by giving his support to a charter school – a policy Labour strongly opposes. Mr Davis was present at a fundraiser for a charter school. Charter schools use taxpayers' money...
Warning: Pupil poaching will rise
Demographic changes could see central Auckland schools pull in more students from areas already losing thousands.Work is under way to check the accuracy of earlier official warnings that declining numbers of students in central...
Uni's $2b upgrade hits halfway mark
Auckland University's $2 billion two-decade upgrade is halfway as it narrows its focus from five to three campus sites and upgrades, demolishes or extends a swag of buildings.Peter Fehl, the university's property services director,...
Strength in numbers for Titahi Bay principals
Several principals from western Porirua are making of point of working closer together.
Education workers to sue over gender gap
The New Zealand Educational Institute now says it also intends to bring action over gender discrimination against education support workers. "The government has been ignoring this human rights issue for far too long and we will now pursue our case ...
Little: MPs shouldn't have gone to charter school fundraiser
Mr Little says it's a bad look because the party's opposed to charter schools. "I said to them it's my preference that they don't go, but I'd leave the judgement call up to them. They're closer to the local and constituent issues.
Kelvin Davis defies Labour policy in charter school support
Labour MP Kelvin Davis has rebelled against his leader, Andrew Little, by giving his support to a charter school – a policy Labour strongly opposes. Mr Davis was present at a fundraiser for a charter school. Charter schools use taxpayers' money...
Primary School Children Named Best Handwriters in NZ
Fellow judge Harcourt, a mother of three who has published the literacy and numeracy works Miranda's Alphabet and Miranda's Numbers, acknowledged the teachers who help children across New Zealand to develop their handwriting skills.
Dover Samuels to tell Tribunal of beatings for speaking te reo
Northland's veteran of Maori politics, Dover Samuels is giving evidence to the Waitangi Tribunal today about a subject he's never spoken of before in public - the brutal punishment of young Maori children in the 1940s for speaking te reo Maori at school.
Divisions in Labour over charter schools policy
Trouble is brewing in the Labour Party caucus over its policy on charter schools.
"I was in the classroom walking from student to student while they were working on a Latin test when I saw that one boy was stuck on a question. I put one hand on his shoulder and said: 'Just move on - go to the next thing.' And he looked up at me and ...
Minister welcomes Queenstown research week
Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce has today welcomed the commencement of the 2015 Queenstown Research Week. The event is New Zealand’s largest annual scientific gathering, bringing together over a thousand researchers for meetings and presentations covering a range of areas, with a focus on biological and medical sciences. ...
Wainuiomata parents hail Waipesi programme for Pasifika education help - The Dominion Post
At a gathering in Wainuiomata Library, Waipesi (Wainuiomata Pasifika Education Success Initiative) and Labour MPs Trevor Mallard and Poto Williams gave out story and picture books collected by university student Thomas Maharaj's "Knowledge Bank" ...
Special residential school says its being starved of students
Salisbury school for girls caters for secondary students with complex needs, including intellectual disabilities, autism, foetal alcohol syndrome, and developmental and behavioural problems. In 2012, the High Court ruled that the Government's decision to close the school was unlawful. In May 2013 the education Minister Hekia Parata confirmed the government would keep the school open. However since that time the government changed the enrolment system for the special school, meaning potential students can't enrol directly, but have to be referred by the Ministry's Intensive Wraparound Service.
Mayor says regions awash with job, but schools must do better
Clutha District mayor Bryan Cadogan has just retired as head of the Mayors Taskforce for Jobs. He says the regions are awash with job vacancies, but schools need to better prepare young people for employment. Rachel Hopkins is the spokesperson for Got A Trade Week, a collaboration by Industry Training Organisation to highlight the opportunities for young people in trades and services.
Redress sought over pay discrimination for education support
“More than six years ago an independent job evaluation report by the Pay Equity Commission showed that when compared with the male dominated job of corrections officer, education support workers employed by the Ministry of Education were paid as ..
teen has a way with words - Stuff.co.nz
Eric is an accelerated student and is working on NCEA level one in some of his subjects. He enjoys English, maths, history and business studies and is thinking of pursuing a career in law and...
A fundraiser all parents would get behind
Here's a fundraiser all parents of school-age children will get behind - the alternative fundraiser.A PTA committee for a school in the US sent home an "Alternative Fundraiser" notification, where, in lieu of sending students home...
Top schools face growing pains
Auckland's two most exclusive state schools have looming roll dilemmas due to a property boom predicted to surge student numbers.More than 1800 apartments will be completed in the Auckland Grammar zone within three years, with 600..
Teenagers and sex: where parents go wrong
Many sex education experts believe high school students should be taught porn literacy, so they understand where pornography fits into their lives, relationships, identity and how they feel about it. "Kids need to understand how porn fits into our ...
Tonga Language Week celebrated
Pacific Peoples Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga has welcomed Tonga Language Week 2015. Tongan language, culture and heritage have had a significant impact on New Zealand’s history and identity as a Pacific nation. They will be celebrated all week with cultural events, including a function at Parliament tonight. The theme of this year’s Tonga Language Week is Fakakoloa ‘o Aotearoa ‘aki ‘a e faiva ‘a e Tonga – Enriching Aotearoa with our Tongan Arts. ...
Minister welcomes Money Week 2015
Empowering people to be better with money is the key focus for Money Week, says Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Paul Goldsmith. “By building the financial capability of our families and communities we can help people better shape their lives, reduce debt and hardship, and achieve their goals,” Mr Goldsmith says. “Getting people thinking about money and how to manage it, from day-to-day budgeting to long term planning are some of the things being discussed in events and activities across the country this week.” ...
Helping Rotorua Students Get Back On Track - Scoop.co.nz (press release)
Everyone needs a second chance in life – and Te Arawa Lakes Trust in Rotorua are providing that opportunity for dozens of students every year who have dropped out of secondary school. Heddell Raerino, who manages the Trust's Employment and Training ..
Few could accuse Peter Bier's engineering lectures of being boring.When it comes to keeping students from nodding off, the Auckland University engineering science, maths and programming teaching fellow has more than a few tricks...
Fellow judge Harcourt, a mother of three who has published the literacy and numeracy works Miranda's Alphabet and Miranda's Numbers, acknowledged the teachers who help children across New Zealand to develop their handwriting skills.
Dover Samuels to tell Tribunal of beatings for speaking te reo
Northland's veteran of Maori politics, Dover Samuels is giving evidence to the Waitangi Tribunal today about a subject he's never spoken of before in public - the brutal punishment of young Maori children in the 1940s for speaking te reo Maori at school.
Divisions in Labour over charter schools policy
Trouble is brewing in the Labour Party caucus over its policy on charter schools.
31 August
Why we need to let our children accept failure"I was in the classroom walking from student to student while they were working on a Latin test when I saw that one boy was stuck on a question. I put one hand on his shoulder and said: 'Just move on - go to the next thing.' And he looked up at me and ...
Minister welcomes Queenstown research week
Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce has today welcomed the commencement of the 2015 Queenstown Research Week. The event is New Zealand’s largest annual scientific gathering, bringing together over a thousand researchers for meetings and presentations covering a range of areas, with a focus on biological and medical sciences. ...
Wainuiomata parents hail Waipesi programme for Pasifika education help - The Dominion Post
At a gathering in Wainuiomata Library, Waipesi (Wainuiomata Pasifika Education Success Initiative) and Labour MPs Trevor Mallard and Poto Williams gave out story and picture books collected by university student Thomas Maharaj's "Knowledge Bank" ...
Special residential school says its being starved of students
Salisbury school for girls caters for secondary students with complex needs, including intellectual disabilities, autism, foetal alcohol syndrome, and developmental and behavioural problems. In 2012, the High Court ruled that the Government's decision to close the school was unlawful. In May 2013 the education Minister Hekia Parata confirmed the government would keep the school open. However since that time the government changed the enrolment system for the special school, meaning potential students can't enrol directly, but have to be referred by the Ministry's Intensive Wraparound Service.
Mayor says regions awash with job, but schools must do better
Clutha District mayor Bryan Cadogan has just retired as head of the Mayors Taskforce for Jobs. He says the regions are awash with job vacancies, but schools need to better prepare young people for employment. Rachel Hopkins is the spokesperson for Got A Trade Week, a collaboration by Industry Training Organisation to highlight the opportunities for young people in trades and services.
Redress sought over pay discrimination for education support
“More than six years ago an independent job evaluation report by the Pay Equity Commission showed that when compared with the male dominated job of corrections officer, education support workers employed by the Ministry of Education were paid as ..
teen has a way with words - Stuff.co.nz
Eric is an accelerated student and is working on NCEA level one in some of his subjects. He enjoys English, maths, history and business studies and is thinking of pursuing a career in law and...
A fundraiser all parents would get behind
Here's a fundraiser all parents of school-age children will get behind - the alternative fundraiser.A PTA committee for a school in the US sent home an "Alternative Fundraiser" notification, where, in lieu of sending students home...
Top schools face growing pains
Auckland's two most exclusive state schools have looming roll dilemmas due to a property boom predicted to surge student numbers.More than 1800 apartments will be completed in the Auckland Grammar zone within three years, with 600..
Teenagers and sex: where parents go wrong
Many sex education experts believe high school students should be taught porn literacy, so they understand where pornography fits into their lives, relationships, identity and how they feel about it. "Kids need to understand how porn fits into our ...
Tonga Language Week celebrated
Pacific Peoples Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga has welcomed Tonga Language Week 2015. Tongan language, culture and heritage have had a significant impact on New Zealand’s history and identity as a Pacific nation. They will be celebrated all week with cultural events, including a function at Parliament tonight. The theme of this year’s Tonga Language Week is Fakakoloa ‘o Aotearoa ‘aki ‘a e faiva ‘a e Tonga – Enriching Aotearoa with our Tongan Arts. ...
Minister welcomes Money Week 2015
Empowering people to be better with money is the key focus for Money Week, says Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Paul Goldsmith. “By building the financial capability of our families and communities we can help people better shape their lives, reduce debt and hardship, and achieve their goals,” Mr Goldsmith says. “Getting people thinking about money and how to manage it, from day-to-day budgeting to long term planning are some of the things being discussed in events and activities across the country this week.” ...
Helping Rotorua Students Get Back On Track - Scoop.co.nz (press release)
Everyone needs a second chance in life – and Te Arawa Lakes Trust in Rotorua are providing that opportunity for dozens of students every year who have dropped out of secondary school. Heddell Raerino, who manages the Trust's Employment and Training ..
30 August
Lecturer juggles work and passionFew could accuse Peter Bier's engineering lectures of being boring.When it comes to keeping students from nodding off, the Auckland University engineering science, maths and programming teaching fellow has more than a few tricks...
Kiwis overwhelmingly call for compulsory financial literacy in schools
New Zealanders stressed out by money problems are overwhelmingly calling for financial literacy to be taught as a compulsory subject in schools.
Auckland school hires guards to deter riff-raff
A South Auckland school has hired two security guards to ward off undesirables during school hours.Otahuhu College signed on the guards this term.Board chairman Peter Cann said the move came after a "couple of incidents" involving...
Modern financial literacy begins at primary
If you think education is "going to the dogs" then you really ought to get down to a local school and take a look at how they're teaching. Out is "chalk and talk" and in is rich learning.Some of the initiatives to teach financial...
Insurers develop risk knowledge in Pasifika schools - Scoop.co.nz
One in six NZ students does not reach the baseline of proficiency in financial literacy and nearly half of this group (44%) identify as Pasifika. Insurance take-up among Pasifika is also relatively low. Tim Grafton, Insurance Council Chief Executive
29 August
Julian Elliott: dyslexia debatePrincipal of Collingwood College, and Professor of Education, at Durham University, and co-author of The Dyslexia Debate, which examines cognitive, brain-based, genetic and educational aspects of dyslexia.
How have New Zealand's donations helped Vanuatu?
Across much of the country the school is the centre of village life. It's not just a school; it's a community centre as well, which means the damage experienced is felt throughout the population. In total 187 classrooms were totally destroyed, 490 ..
'Future-focused' schools lead the way - 3News NZ
For those who left school a while ago, the inside of a modern classroom might seem like a pretty foreign place. Far from the days of chalk and pencils though are so-called "future-focused" schools – no bells, no individual classrooms, and Principal ...
28 August
Māori science education model developed - Radio New Zealand
Hiria McRae from Victoria University's Faculty of Education developed the model as part of her doctoral research on science education in Rotorua. It focused on the experience of Māori students, their teachers and local elders located in one of her ...
Hiria McRae from Victoria University's Faculty of Education developed the model as part of her doctoral research on science education in Rotorua. It focused on the experience of Māori students, their teachers and local elders located in one of her ...
Maths researcher honoured at Cook Islands' 50th - Massey News (press release)
Dr Hunter, who has pioneered an innovative, culturally tailored teaching model to address mathematics underachievement among Pasifika and Māori pupils, was one of 19 Cook Islanders to receive an Acknowledgement of Excellence at the Kia Rapa Tu Taku 'Oe ...
School heads nervous over safety
Contentious health and safety changes have passed - and school principals remain worried they could face "draconian" punishment if things go wrong.Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Woodhouse has said such fears are...
Rural schools battle isolation issues - Stuff.co.nz
Recruiting and retaining staff is near impossible for some, finding relief teachers is challenging and expensive and professional development hard to come by, principals say. Their "unique" plight has become such a concern to the Principals' Federation ...
Text speak no threat to spelling, may help: academic - Stuff.co.nz
The Ministry of Education said spelling lists and tests could still be found in classrooms. Spelling was an "intrinsic part of ... And students from around the country have just shown off their spelling skills in the 2015 NZ Spelling Bee. The ...
MOOC on critical thinking attracting thousands of enrolments
How do we know when we’re making the right decision? And what if it’s not the most rational one? Though we hate to admit it, most of us are not very good at critical and logical thinking. Now a University of Auckland MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) ...
N4L raises volume of teacher excellence with new podcast
Available on iTunes as well as in N4L's digital learning hub Pond, the regular 'Point of Learning' podcasts are designed as a place for open discussion on the future of learning, classroom best practices, and the opportunities and challenges presented ...
Innovation in Tertiary Education ICT Sector Recognised
Evan Blackman, Education Sector Manager at Microsoft New Zealand, says it was impressive to see the New Zealand education institutes leading the way with innovative use of cloud services, and projects which were having an impact at scale to deliver ...
Rāmere 28 Here-turi-kōkā 2015 - TVNZ
The Kōhanga Reo board co-chair says kōhanga are being undermined by the hold up of their Treaty claim by the Minister of Education. Tina Ratana-Olsen says the board has made changes to its structure and operations, but they will not resign as that is ...
27 August
Communities of schools are coming to the Waikato - but what are they? - Stuff.co.nzOne potential advantage was organising professional development for teachers across all schools at the same time. "We get bang for buck really. In the past we would have done that as individual schools. This is... just using the resource that we all ...
WATCH: Schoolboy performs original waiata about Maori Battalion
A schoolboy who wrote and performed his own song has won the Supreme Award in a school competition honouring the 28th Māori Battalion. Korakotaiwaha Kawana, a Year 8 student from Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Mana Tamariki...
University of Auckland toughens literacy requirements - Stuff.co.nz
The University of Auckland is beefing up its English requirements for new students in an effort to lift pass rates. The university's deputy vice chancellor professor John Morrow said there was a strong relationship between the pass rates of university ...
Crimson Consulting flush with new funds
An education consultancy founded by two New Zealand entrepreneurs has raised more than $7 million from international hedge fund managers in a US$50 million valuation of the company.Crimson Consulting, the brainchild of Jamie Beaton,...
